Survivor Spotlight: JOANNE D'ALTON : Breast Cancer Survivor
Summer, 2007
Note from Tim: I consider Joanne to be a “Friend of Cancer!” When I say that, I mean a couple of things. First, if it wasn’t for cancer neither Joanne nor I would be here and, as a result, we would have never had the opportunity to become friends! But what is truly amazing about Joanne is that she has chosen (and she will be the first to tell you that it is a choice) to embrace cancer, just as one would embrace a total stranger. She chose not to turn her back on it and, just as I am sure she does with the strangers in her life, she made cancer her friend! She didn’t judge this new friend called cancer but accepted it for what it was. She didn’t focus on the flaws of this new friend called cancer but she looked for the goodness that lay deep below the surface! Yes, Joanne is a “Friend of Cancer!”

DIAGNOSIS:

It was November of 2005 and I was acting as the youth director at our church because we didn’t have one. I noticed a lump in my breast but figured it was just another rheumatoid arthritis (RA) nodule because I have those all over my body so I really didn’t pay much attention to it. After the first of the year the lump started to grow but I kept letting other activities in my life take precedence over my own health. I knew I was going to have to deal with the lump but I was in the midst of planning to take ten eighth-graders to a youth event in the Dells so I wanted to get through that first.

A few days before the trip I had a blood test for my RA and my rheumatologist called me to tell me that I was extremely anemic and must be bleeding internally. The next day I saw Dr. Pawlak at the Marsho Family Medical Clinic and he IMMEDIATELY put me in the hospital. Because of the appearance of the tumor they told me right away that it was most likely cancer, but I wasn’t surprised. After they completed the pathology, I was told I had breast cancer.

By the time I was admitted to the hospital the cancer was growing incredibly fast. They were about to discharge me until one of the nurses called Dr. Matthews and informed him, “The tumor is actually growing while she is in here!” Dr. Matthews came to see me in the hospital and I started treatment right away. I can remember them wheeling me over here for chemo, meeting Cathy for my first treatment, and Tim stopping by to give me a copy of the newsletter.

CHEMO & BREAST SURGERY:

During chemo I developed some really bad neuropathy. After that I got an infection in my breast due mostly to the bulky tumor and the dead tissue caused by the chemo so I ended up in the hospital for another week. And the hair loss is a tough thing to go through, especially for women. But everyone here is so good about telling you what to expect and how you might feel so when you’re in the shower and it starts coming out in clumps it’s not a total shock. I was very proactive in the sense that once it started falling out I had it shaved off. For me that was easier… but I realize that is an individual thing. After I shaved my head I really enjoyed wearing different scarves.

As soon as I got out of the hospital and the infection cleared up I met with Dr. Werner who told me he wanted to do the mastectomy the next day. Dr. Werner seemed a little surprised at my reaction because he said, “I would think you would be glad to get rid of the tumor?” I said, “Well, I am, but I need a chance to think this through!” Everything happened so quickly, but it is probably just as well because it didn’t give me much time to worry about things. I sometimes hear about people struggling with treatment decisions following a cancer diagnosis… but I didn’t have time to struggle. I had to do what I had to do. I had the mastectomy the next morning and Dr. Werner said, “You’re ready to go!” I didn’t want to stay in the hospital any longer so I went.

I continued to get a total of ten cycles of chemo plus six weeks of radiation and now I am on Herceptin therapy for a year. I had no clue what chemotherapy was about but I was thinking it was going to be terrible because that’s all you ever seem to hear. But it was actually way easier than I thought it was going to be. Part of it might be my high tolerance for pain as a result of my RA.

RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS (RA):

I was a senior in high school and I was very active in cheerleading, baseball, and sports. My mother raised us to not complain very much. I just figured my pain was a “normal” part of my activities. As a result, I think I developed a fairly high tolerance for pain. But then I went to the doctor because my feet were becoming deformed. I just figured they were bunions. As soon as the doctor took a look at my feet he asked if I had ever been tested for arthritis. At first I just kind of laughed! Arthritis? That’s for old people and I was only 19! But that’s what it turned out to be… and I have no idea how long I had it.

Back then they treated RA by offering the lowest dose of medication to help with the pain and discomfort. At first all I was taking was up to 24 aspirin a day. That helped with some of the pain but did nothing to slow or stop the progression or deformity of the condition. Over the years I simply learned to live with and adjust to the conditions. A few years after I was diagnosed, Mike (my husband) and I were in a co-ed softball league. It became too painful to even catch a baseball so I decided to become the official scorekeeper just to stay involved. I used to love to bowl… but now I keep score or I just pick up the ball with both hands and roll it down the alley and see what happens.

CHOICES:

It’s all about choices! Occasionally, people whom I have known for a while will tell me that they never noticed the deformity of my hands. I have to ask them, “How could you NOT notice?” But I think it’s because I choose not to focus on my RA, I choose not to focus on the deformities of my hands and feet, and I choose not to focus on what I CAN’T do! Funny thing is, sometimes I will see a picture of myself and say, “Oh my gosh… Look at those hands!” I figure if I choose not to look at my RA as a weakness, others won’t look at it as a weakness either.

It wasn’t until the mid 80s that I saw a rheumatologist for the first time because I had learned to live quite well with RA. By that time they had changed their approach to treating RA. They now give the strongest medication that a person can tolerate in order to stop the progression while maintaining the highest quality of life. I guess you could say it is very similar to cancer treatment in that way… they give you as much as they need to treat the disease without causing too many side effects. About eight years ago I was started on a medication that really has worked well for RA pain. I had to go off it during chemo but Dr. Matthews predicted that the chemo drugs would be just as effective for my RA, and he was right. He also predicted that after the chemo the RA would come back fast and furious, and he was right about that too! In January I had some terrible flare ups and the pain was so intense! After having it under control for eight years, I forgot how painful RA could be. I remember thinking at one point, “No wonder chemo doesn’t seem so bad, NOTHING can compare to this!”

MORE ON CHEMO:

Other things that made chemo easier included the port that they put in so they didn’t have to poke me in the arm every time and, of course, there were the drugs they have to combat the nausea! I didn’t get sick once!

The worst thing had to be the tiredness. But once I was on a schedule I could go back in my journal and read how I felt on the first day after chemo, the second day, and the third day… and each cycle was pretty much the same. So I could plan accordingly.

I am the coordinator of a local CROP Walk for Hunger and this year the event fell on Day #3 of my treatment, a day that I knew I would spend sleeping on the couch! I was able to do the preliminary stuff to help them get the walk organized and then my two sisters came up from Illinois and they, along with my husband, walked on my behalf. I stayed home and slept! Being able to plan that way prevented me from feeling disappointed. I’m not saying chemo was a cake walk… but it wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be.

THE WORST PART OF CANCER:

The most difficult part of the entire cancer experience for me has been forgiving myself for not going to the doctor right away! I had noticed the lump in November of ’05 and it really started growing around Easter of ’06. But by then I felt so embarrassed about not going in right away that it became all that much more difficult to go in. I would pray each night, “God, please make this thing go away!” And I kept hearing this voice saying, “Go to a doctor!” I had let it go to the point that I pretty much knew I had cancer… and I already had myself DEAD. I remember thinking, “Well, I’m going to die anyway… so what difference does it make now!”

After I was diagnosed I really beat myself up for allowing things to get as bad as they did! Eventually, Dr. Matthews helped me realize that I had to forgive myself or get forgiveness from whomever I needed forgiveness from before I could move on and heal. When I would start beating myself up over things he would wisely remind me, “Don’t go there!” If there is any message or lesson I would like to share with others it would be to seek medical advice as soon as you can! The funny thing is that I have always been very vigilant about seeing doctors about my RA, but I’ve not always been so good with other areas of my health and I think that is fairly common among people with a chronic condition such as RA.

THE BEST PART OF CANCER:

I believe that whatever happens is what is meant to be! I simply cannot imagine not having all of the doctors, nurses, the rest of the staff, other cancer survivors, and all of the people that I have met through this in my life. And there will be a way that I will keep all of these wonderful people as a part of my life!

GOD IS INVOLVED:

I have always been a very prayerful and spiritual person. On the one hand, I really think God has better things to do than to focus on little ‘ol Joanne. But on the other hand, when I look at all of the people, events, and happenings in my life I can’t help but know that somehow God is involved! He must have known there were angels here on earth I needed to meet and, boy, did He ever provide them!

ADVICE TO OTHERS:

First of all, listen to your body and don’t put off going to the doctor for ANY reason!

Second, take advantage of the opportunities that present themselves. I didn’t attend a TLC Support Session until after I had finished treatment but when I finally did attend I realized what I was missing and I realized the benefits of being with others involved in cancer.

And, finally, stay positive and smile. My mom taught me that how I react to something is a choice. I will never say that I am thankful that I have RA or that I am glad I was diagnosed with cancer, but I will choose to live the best life I can live with RA and with my cancer experience! The benefits of being positive and smiling are the best! The happier I am… the better I feel! The happier I am… the more other people want to be with me! I love life and I’m here to enjoy life!

SPECIAL THANKS:

And I have to thank my husband Mike who has been an incredible Godsend! He has stuck with me through the years of RA and now he has stuck with me through cancer! With both RA and with cancer treatment you can be feeling good and planning for something one day but by the next day everything can change and you just can’t do what you wanted to do.

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